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Join Fred & June Books in Mooresville, NC, and NAACP Image Award Nominee author Calvin Stovall Jr. for an afternoon of examination and celebration of the stories of Black hotel entrepreneurs. The event will feature insights from the author and audience Q&A.Through rare archival photographs, personal accounts, and historical context, Hidden Hospitality uncovers how Black entrepreneurs built spaces of refuge, dignity, and self-determination within the American hospitality industry—often during times of extreme racial exclusion and violence. It is a Black history book told through a hospitality lens, centering stories that were nearly lost to time.
About the Author:
Calvin Stovall is the Chief Experience Officer of ICONIC Presentations, LLC. He specializes in delivering dynamic customer experience and leadership keynote presentations and workshops for organizations nationwide. He has nearly 30 years of experience in the hospitality and non-profit service industries.
Today, he leverages his life experiences as a business leader and passion for Black history to engage and connect with his audiences nationwide. Calvin is a native Chicagoan and began his hospitality career as a front desk clerk at the Holiday Inn City Centre. During his hospitality career as vice president of brand marketing with Hilton Worldwide, he was responsible for the marketing and public relations efforts for more than 150 Homewood Suites hotels. While under his leadership, the Homewood Suites brand was recognized four times by J.D. Power and Associates. Calvin formerly served as CEO of The Soulsville Foundation, a non-profit based in Memphis, TN. He also worked as a brand marketing strategist with ALSAC, the brand awareness and fundraising arm for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.
For two consecutive years, Calvin was voted one of the 50 Most Inspirational People in Travel/Hospitality by the International Hospitality Institute. Calvin is also the author of the forthcoming book tentatively titled Hospitality Historiography: Inspiring Stories of African American Hoteliers, and Industry Pioneers Who Revolutionized the Hospitality Landscape” scheduled for a late 2024 release.
Calvin resides in Mooresville, NC with his two teenage sons, Caden, 18, and Carson, 16.
Keep up with the author:
www.iconicpresentations.net
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Event Venue
Fred & June's Books 162 N. Main Street Mooresville, NC 28115, 248 N Main St, Mooresville, NC 28115-2528, United States
Tickets
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